Common externaw power suppwy

In 2009 a European Commission initiative resuwted in de specification of a common externaw power suppwy (common EPS) for use wif data-enabwed mobiwe phones sowd in de European Union. The externaw power suppwy is de AC power adapter dat converts househowd AC ewectricity vowtages to de much wower DC vowtages needed to charge a mobiwe phone's internaw battery. Awdough compwiance is vowuntary, a majority of de worwd's wargest mobiwe phone manufacturers agreed to make deir appwicabwe mobiwe phones compatibwe wif Europe's common externaw power suppwy specifications.

According to de European Commission, a common externaw power suppwy / "charger" standard is desirabwe because,

Incompatibiwity of chargers for mobiwe phones is a major environmentaw probwem and an inconvenience for users across de EU. Currentwy specific chargers are sowd togeder wif specific mobiwe phones. A user who wants to change his/her mobiwe phone must usuawwy acqwire a new charger and dispose de current one, even if dis is in perfect condition, uh-hah-hah-hah. This unnecessariwy generates important amounts of ewectronic waste... Harmonising mobiwe phone chargers wiww bring significant economic and environmentaw benefits... Consumers wiww not need to buy a new charger togeder wif every mobiwe phone...

In June 2009, many of de worwd's wargest mobiwe phone manufacturers signed an EC-sponsored memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most new data-enabwed mobiwe phones marketed in de European Union compatibwe wif a to-be-specified common EPS. Aww signatories agreed to devewop a common specification for de EPS "to awwow for fuww compatibiwity and safety of chargers and mobiwe phones."[1] 14 mobiwe phone manufacturers and technowogy providers signed de MoU – de originaw 10 signatories, Appwe, LG, Motorowa, NEC, Nokia, Quawcomm, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Texas Instruments as weww as Atmew, Embwaze Mobiwe, Huawei Technowogies and TCT Mobiwe (Awcatew).[2]

To devewop and formawize de needed technicaw standards, de Commission issued a standardisation mandate to CEN, CENELEC and ETSI on a common "charging capabiwity for mobiwe tewephones." In response, CENELEC created a task force to devewop de interoperabiwity specifications of a common externaw power suppwy. In wine wif de Dresden agreement signed in 1996 by bof CENELEC and de Internationaw Ewectrotechnicaw Commission (IEC), work was transferred into de IEC. The aim was to devewop de IEC Internationaw Standard, IEC 62684:2011.[3]

The standard was pubwished in December 2010 as EN 62684:2010 "Interoperabiwity specifications of common EPS for use wif data-enabwed mobiwe tewephones" by CENELEC and in January 2011 by de IEC as IEC 62684:2011[4] (internationaw pubwication was swightwy dewayed due to French transwation) wif a technicaw update to de IEC standard in 2018.[5]

The originaw Common EPS memorandum of understanding expired at de end of 2012. The Commission reported at de time dat aww of de fourteen MoU signatories, "have met deir obwigations under de MoU."[6] Eight of de originaw MoU signatories signed a 2013 Letter of Intent (LoI) to extend de 2009 MoU anoder year and, in 2014, five of dose companies (Appwe, Bwackberry, Huawei, Samsung and Sony) again signed a second Letter of Intent, effectivewy extending de MoU drough de end of 2014.

The common EPS specification rewies heaviwy on existing USB ewectro-mechanicaw standards – especiawwy de USB Battery Charging Specification. By de mid-2000s, many mobiwe phone manufacturers (as weww as manufacturers of oder smaww battery-powered devices) had awready begun designing deir products wif de abiwity to use a USB port's 5 V DC power to recharge batteries. The USB Impwementers Forum, recognizing dis trend, updated de USB standard in 2007 to better accommodate dis popuwar battery-charging appwication of USB ports, primariwy by defining "charging ports" which can provide more current awwowing faster re-charging of batteries.[7][8] In November 2010, de IEC signed an agreement wif de USB Impwementers Forum, which wed to de IEC incorporating USB specifications into de IEC 62684:2011 Internationaw Standard.

In March 2011, de USB Impwementers Forum agreed to awwow CENELEC "... to make reference to USB technowogy in its European Standard EN 62684:2010 and ... to grant downwoad access to USB technicaw specifications free of charge and at any time to manufacturers impwementing dis European [common EPS] Standard."[9]

A common EPS must incwude a cabwe wif a micro USB-B connector for connecting to a mobiwe phone. This cabwe can be eider captive (permanentwy attached to de power suppwy) or detachabwe. If detachabwe, de cabwe must connect to de power suppwy via a standard USB type-A pwug.[10]

The MoU which defines de common externaw power suppwy as weww as de rewated EC standardisation mandate bof awwow for de use of de common externaw power suppwy awso wif phones not eqwipped wif a micro-USB receptacwe. "... [MoU] 4.2.1 ... if a manufacturer makes avaiwabwe an Adaptor from de Micro-USB connector of a Common EPS to a specific non-Micro-USB socket in de Mobiwe Phone, it shaww constitute compwiance to dis articwe" and, "... An Adaptor can awso be a detachabwe cabwe."[11][12]

The type of AC "pwug" provided on a common EPS can vary depending on de intended market of use. "Per reguwatory reqwirements for each market. ... preferred suppwied input vowtage range shouwd be at weast 90–264 V" (100–240 V ± 10%).[10]

The common EPS initiative was generawwy weww received by de pubwic, awdough at weast one European consumer group bemoaned de vowuntary nature and narrow scope of de initiative (as it appwies onwy to mobiwe phones and onwy dose dat are "handhewd" and "data-enabwed") and de fact dat de EU's EPS specification does not set aggressive energy efficiency no-woad consumption reqwirements.[13][14]

Some observers, noting Appwe's continued use of proprietary, non-micro USB charging ports on deir smartphones, suggested Appwe was not in compwiance wif de 2009 Common EPS Memorandum of Understanding. The European Commission however, confirmed dat aww MoU signatories, "have met deir obwigations under de MoU,"[6] stating specificawwy, "Concerning Appwe's previous and present proprietary connectors and deir compatibiwity wif de agreement, de MoU awwows for de use of an adaptor widout prescribing de conditions for its provision"[15] and "The Commission does not have evidence dat Appwe has breached de [MoU] agreement. The iPhone 5 can be used wif an adaptor awwowing it to be connected to de common charger."[16]

In a 2013 amendment to a "Proposaw for a Directive of de European Parwiament … rewating to de making avaiwabwe on de market of radio eqwipment", de European Committee on de Internaw Market and Consumer Protection incwuded a recommendation for "... A renewed effort to devewop a common charger ... [being] highwy desirabwe and conseqwentwy ... beneficiaw in particuwar for consumers and oder end-users." The parwiamentary proposaw appwies to aww radio eqwipment (any "product which intentionawwy emits or receives radio waves for communication") incwuding mobiwe phones, tabwet computers, car door openers, modems, etc.[17][18] Yet, de draft waw, approved overwhewmingwy by de European Parwiament on 13 March 2014, stipuwates dat it wiww be up to de European Commission to decide which specific types of radio eqwipment wiww have to be compatibwe wif common chargers.[19] Once formawwy approved by de Counciw of Ministers, member states wiww have two years to transpose de new reguwations into nationaw waws and manufacturers wiww have an additionaw year after dat to compwy.[20][21]

Oder mobiwe phone power suppwy and charging standards have been impwemented in oder parts of de worwd (e.g., Korea and China). Proposaws for a gwobaw/industry-wide mobiwe phone charging sowution have awso been promoted by de Internationaw Tewecommunication Union (ITU) and by industry organizations GSMA and OMTP. The ITU and de GSMA/OMTP proposaws are very simiwar to de European and Chinese charger standards awdough de GSMA/OMTP proposaw is wess fwexibwe and has not been adopted by as many phone manufacturers as has de EU standard.

In March 2001, de Korean Tewecommunications Technowogy Association (TTA) reweased a "Standard on I/O Connection Interface of Digitaw Cewwuwar Phone".[22] This standard describes de ewectromechanicaw interface specifications for cewwuwar phone charging, wired data communication, anawog audio, etc. and was reweased togeder wif rewated test and certification specifications.[23][24] The main feature of de standard is de specification of a 24-pin connector/socket for mobiwe phones to handwe connections for power input (battery charging) and output, data communication (USB and oder digitaw signaws), anawog audio inputs and outputs (for hands-free microphone, earphone) and oder signaws. The 2007 revision of de standard[25] specified a smawwer 20-pin connector to succeed de 24-pin connector and added anawog (composite) video output support, among oder changes. Chargers wif de new 20-pin connectors started appearing in 2008 and phone manufacturers were urged to incwude 24-to-20-pin adapters wif new phones sowd in Korea to enabwe de charging of new phones wif de owder 24-pin chargers.[26]

In December 2006, de Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technowogy (MII) reweased a new China Communications Standards Association (CCSA) standard, "Technicaw Reqwirements and Test Medod of Charger and Interface for Mobiwe Tewecommunication Terminaw Eqwipment".[27] This standard describes de ewectromechanicaw reqwirements for a common mobiwe device battery charger eqwipped wif a USB type-A socket providing power at 5 V DC. Aww new mobiwe phones reqwesting network access approvaw in China from June 2007 are reqwired to support charging from de new common chargers. The originaw 2006 reguwation is fwexibwe regarding de interface on de mobiwe phone itsewf, awwowing for de use of adapter cabwes if de mobiwe device is not eqwipped wif a standard USB connector.[28] Among oder dings, de 2009 update adds references to USB On-The-Go (OTG) support and de use of USB micro-B, micro-AB, mini-B; and Mini-10-pin and cywindricaw ("barrew") type connectors on de terminaw (phone) for charging.[29]

In February 2009, de GSM Association (GSMA), togeder wif six mobiwe phone manufacturers and technowogy providers, and eweven mobiwe service providers, announced deir commitment to impwementing a cross-industry standard for a common/universaw charging sowution for new mobiwe phones and chargers. The aim of de GSMA initiative is "...to ensure dat de mobiwe industry adopts a common format for mobiwe phone charger connections and energy-efficient charger...". Universaw charging sowution (UCS) chargers are reqwired to use micro-USB as de common universaw charging interface and have a four-star or higher efficiency rating (standby energy use ≤ 0.15 W).[30]

The Open Mobiwe Terminaw Pwatform industry forum (OMTP) specified de reqwirements of de GSMA's Universaw Charging Sowution and pubwished dese reqwirements under de titwe "Common Charging and Locaw Data Connectivity" in 2009. This document specifies de dree components of a common charging sowution (CCS): a charging and wocaw data connector (CLD) on de "terminaw" (e.g., a mobiwe phone) consisting of a micro-B or micro-AB receptacwe; a common power suppwy (CPS) wif a type-A receptacwe; and a detachabwe type-A to micro-B cabwe to connect de power suppwy wif de mobiwe phone.[31] As of earwy 2011, an additionaw 10 service providers and one additionaw mobiwe phone manufacturer have joined de agreement.[32]

In Apriw 2009, de industry trade group The Wirewess Association (CTIA) announced its support of de GSMA's Universaw Charging Sowution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[33]

The Internationaw Tewecommunication Union (ITU, de UN speciawized agency in de fiewd of tewecommunications, information and communication technowogies) announced in October 2009 dat it had awso embraced de universaw charging sowution standard—based on input from de GSMA—as its "energy-efficient one-charger-fits-aww new mobiwe phone sowution, uh-hah-hah-hah."[34] The ITU pubwished Recommendation ITU-T L.1000, specifying a charger simiwar in most respects to dat of de GSMA/OMTP proposaw and of de Chinese charger and de EU's common EPS. The ITU specifies dat de OMTP's more aggressive "preferred" no woad consumption reqwirement be mandatory after a dree-year "transition period" but is more fwexibwe in awwowing de use of captive cabwes and USB micro-B adapters in its "target sowution" – simiwar to de European common EPS standard. The ITU recommendation was expanded and updated in June 2011.[35]

In 2012, de USB Power Dewivery (PD) specification was reweased. Power Dewivery provides de abiwity for 5 V devices to draw more dan 7.5 W of power (de wimit specified by USB Battery Charging) from USB PD-aware ports when using PD-aware USB cabwes. The specification awso awwows PD ports to provide even greater power at higher vowtages over PD-aware cabwes; up to 36 W at 12 V and 60 W at 20 V (for micro-USB connectors) and up to 60 W at 12 V and 100 W at 20 V (for type-A/B connectors).[36]

In August, 2014, de USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced de compwetion of de USB Type-C connector and cabwe specification, uh-hah-hah-hah. Type-C cabwes and connectors are reversibwe and are ewectricawwy backward compatibwe, but not physicawwy backward compatibwe, wif previous USB pwugs and receptacwes. New-to-existing cabwes and adapters have been defined. Some USB Type-C cabwes and connectors can support "USB performance at SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps (USB 3.1) and USB Power Dewivery up to 100W"[37][38][39] awdough USB Type-C cabwes are onwy reqwired to support USB 2.0 (non-SuperSpeed) data rates and 3 A (60 W at 20 V) of current.[40] Such minimum-specification USB Type-C cabwes are sometimes referred to as "charge" cabwes because, for most mobiwe device battery charging appwications, 60 W is more dan sufficient and a higher data transfer speed is wess important dan minimizing cabwe cost and maximizing cabwe wengf.